Knee Flexion-Assisted Method for Human-Exoskeleton System

The knee has gradually become an important research target for the lower extremity exoskeleton. However, the issue that whether the flexion-assisted profile based on the contractile element (CE) is effective throughout the gait is still a research gap. In this study, we first analyze the effective flexion-assisted method through the passive element’s (PE) energy storage and release mechanism. Specifically, ensuring assisting within an entire joint power period and the human’s active movement is a prerequisite for the CE-based flexion-assisted method. Second, we design the enhanced adaptive oscillator (EAO) to ensure the human’s active movement and the integrity of the assistance profile. Third, a fundamental frequency estimation based on discrete Fourier transform (DFT) is proposed to shorten the convergence time of EAO significantly. The finite state machine (FSM) is designed to improve the stability and practicality of EAO. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the prerequisite condition for the CE-based flexion-assisted method by using electromyography (EMG) and metabolic indicators in experiments. In particular, for the knee joint, CE-based flexion assistance should be within an entire joint power period rather than just in the negative power phase. Ensuring the human’s active movement will also significantly reduce the activation of antagonistic muscles. This study will aid in designing assistive methods from the perspective of natural human actuation and apply the EAO to the human-exoskeleton system.